Devil's Child
by LittleMissMorgenstern
Summary: So, to celebrate Malec Day (20th December), I've decided to write a fanfic. It will be a two-part fic, and I will upload the second part later today. I hope you enjoy it.
1. Devil's Child

Magnus stared absently at Alec. He watched his black curls bob slightly in the brief gust of wind as the restaurant's door opened, the bell pull jingling like Santa's sleigh. Jace, beside Alec, was attempting to engage Alec in conversation, though Alexander looked as if he'd rather be elsewhere, participating in more interesting things. Magnus wondered if he would rather be tracking dragon demons through the slushy tunnels that ran beneath the city like veins.

Magnus was so absorbed in watching his husband sulk that it took him a moment to realize Clary had been talking to him. He blinked at her.

"What was that, biscuit?" he said. "I was miles away, lounging on a beach sipping a Pina Colada."

Alec muttered a response under his breath, though Magnus didn't catch the words.

"I _said_," said Clary, a note of impatience in her voice, "if maybe you wanted to hold Chrissy?"

Magnus regarded the ball of flailing arms on her lap with distaste. The little boy had inherited his mother's deep green eyes and his father's dishevelled blonde hair, and, unfortunately, his father's careless attitude. Despite Clary having named him after her brother, there was nothing of Jonathan Morgenstern in him. He looked how one-year-olds were supposed to look; chubby cheeks and milk teeth and fragile limbs. Magnus wondered when he would reach the age when he started beheading his action figures.

But his being a child wasn't what made Magnus recoil. He'd held children before, James and Lucie, even Clary herself, bundled up in a woollen blanket. No, that wasn't it—it was the thick slimy gravy oozing down the little boy's chin, soaking his poor miniature tweed jacket with gloop. He pictured that gloop staining his white tuxedo—and shuddered inwardly.

"Oh," Magnus began smoothly, "I don't think that would be a good idea. That child when he first laid eyes on me screamed his throat dry. I think he thought I was going to kidnap him like the child snatcher off _Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_."

Across from him, Simon snorted. Magnus raised his eyebrows questioningly at the same time Isabelle shot her boyfriend a suspicious look. "Something funny?" she demanded.

Simon shook his head at her, as if to say _Not now._

"Look," said Clary, pushing Simon and Isabelle out of the booth and rising to her feet. "I'll be five minutes." She dumped Christopher on his lap and walked quickly away. Seconds later Jace slid out of the booth and followed her.

"_I_ see," said Magnus. "They're going for a quickie in the bathroom. How romantic."

"Magnus!" Alec burst out. His face was suddenly suffused with blood. "How can you say that? Jace isn't taking drugs! Nor Clary," he added upon catching Simon's look. "I mean, I wouldn't know. She could be using drugs—"

"Gah!" Magnus exclaimed. Chrissy had reached up and plucked off one of Magnus's glittery false lashes and was waving it, triumphantly, in his hand, as if it were a flag. "You insolent monster!" Magnus twisted round on the seat, turning to Alec; the other boy was regarding him with a concerned look, as if Magnus looked suddenly ill. "Alec—Alec, how do I look? Is it awful?"

Alec's eyes widened momentarily before he shoved his face in his hands. Meanwhile, Magnus felt as if the sky was falling, moving slowly and torturously, threatening to crush him. Bending his head forward, he tried to get Chrissy to remove the other lash. He would rather be seen with no glittery lashes than with one glittery lash, his eyes appearing uneven as if he had accidently shaved off its lashes. Magnus succeeded in only getting his hair caught in the boy's mouth; Christopher coughed and kicked out at him, wailing like a police siren.

Magnus knew customers in the café had turned to stare at him, but he didn't acknowledge them. There were bigger issues to deal with. Like, say, the threat of his eardrums exploding, the ear-splitting screech emanating from the child's gaping mouth as he thrashed in Magnus's arms, his little feet kicking him in his side—gravy, gravy, gravy. Paddy wasn't such trouble to deal with, though Magnus guessed that was because he hadn't inherited Jace Herondale's attitude.

Alec was shouting at him, demanding Magnus to _do something, _while Izzy and Simon conversed with each other and pretended they didn't know either Alec or Magnus.

"What on earth—" It was Clary, suddenly beside him. In her hands she held paper plates of steaming food. Jace appeared at her side just seconds later, carrying drinks. "What have you done to him?" She set the food on the table and took the police siren out of Magnus's arms. She held him tight against her chest, rubbing his back soothingly and whispering to him in a hushed voice.

The child quieted almost immediately.

Jace nudged Izzy and Simon aside; they scooted over. "You were right," he said as he took his seat. "Chrissy hates you." He seemed unconcerned by this, almost amused at the idea.

Magnus was about to answer when his phone buzzed. He realized then that Christopher hadn't been kicking him in his side at all. It had been his phone. Magnus stared helplessly at his gravy-covered fingers, shot a look at Alec. With an irritable sigh Alec reached over and slid his hand into his inside pocket. Magnus flinched as Alec's icy fingers grazed his skin, his gentle touch sending bolts of electricity through his body.

Alec met Magnus's eyes as he registered his flinch, and Magnus saw the faint spark in their ocean depths, and he realized Alec wanted to get out of here just as much as Magnus did. Reluctantly Alec drew back, holding the phone to his ear. His husband's face turned an array of colours: gray, blue, yellow, fuchsia. A moment later he snapped the phone shut.

"That was Catarina," Alec said. "It's Paddy. He's—"

He cut himself off, because at that precise moment the liquid inside the glasses on the table had started to ripple. The rippling became a wild ocean, the glasses themselves vibrating, the lights swaying overhead.

And then he heard it: the faint sound of a stampede.

The windows rattled in their frames as out on the street, a horde of dogs rushed by like one single gigantic wave. Passer-by ducked into nearby alleyways to avoid being crushed. People abandoned their vehicles on the street and ran in the direction the hounds were headed, away from them.

And there, saddled atop a black St. Bernard amid the roiling mass, was a small blue-skinned warlock child.

It was Paddy.


	2. Horde Of Hounds

Magnus's immediate thought was of the way Paddy's jet-black locks flew out behind him in the wind, like a satin-black curtain caught in a breeze. His next thought was overcome by a wave of horror combined with sheer terror for the child.

A stampede wasn't anything Magnus hadn't witnessed before; he'd seen llama stampedes and watched stampedes unfurl in Jumanji. No, that wasn't it—it was the question of _What is going to happen when people notice the blue thing clinging to the dog's back? _Or more importantly, _What will happen when people notice the blue thing?_

Magnus shot to his feet, staring as the Bernard galloped by, Paddy fastened to its back, his little hands grabbling at its collar. The café's occupants had paused to stare, too, several even screaming and cowering back against the far wall.

The last of the hounds careened around a corner and disappeared. Paddy was nowhere to be seen.

Jace broke the silence that followed. "When that kid reaches adulthood, I want to take him out for a drink," he muttered. He turned to Clary, who was staring open-mouthed, Chrissy hoisted on her hip gazing after the hounds with a look of interest. "Can we not trade Chrissy for Paddy?"

Clary appeared not to have heard him. She glanced incredulously at Magnus and Alec, as if they were insane. Magnus wanted to point out that the only insane one here was Paddy, who, in fact, wasn't here because he was insane.

"Are you just going to stand there?" she shrieked. Jace winced. "Go after him!" And then, in a lower voice: "If mundanes find out there's a blue lizard thing—"

Magnus waved her away. "Alright, alright." He turned to Alec, who had risen slowly to his feet. He looked stricken, as if they hadn't been dogs at all but umbrellas. "Alec, my darling—"

"Alec, you look as if you just saw a blue lizard riding a dog," interrupted Jace unhelpfully. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"You're not helping, Jace," said Isabelle.

"Good. I wanted to finish my fries anyway," said Jace.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. She dragged a speechless Sheldon to his feet as she clambered out of the booth. "We're coming with you," she told Magnus confidently. He caught the spark of animation in her eyes and was momentarily dazzled by the resemblance she bared to Alec. "Aren't we, Simon?"

Sheldon—Simon, Magnus reminded himself—scratched his head awkwardly. "Um, well…" Isabelle stomped on his foot with her heel. He let out a yelp. "Yes, yes! Of course we're coming."

Isabelle smiled sweetly.

Izzy seized her brother by the nape of his shirt and dragged him toward the door, Sheldon in tow. Magnus made as if to follow, but paused and turned back to Clary. "Oh, and for the record, Clarissa. Paddington Bear is not a lizard thing; he is Magnus Bane the second," he said, and he spun on his heel and made way after the others.

Stopping the horde of hounds wasn't as difficult as locating them. Magnus was forced to halt pedestrians and demand where the last sighting of the hounds was closest to. The four of them leaped from cab to cab, switching only when the cabbie refused to head toward the stampede.

At last they wound up on Fifth. The four of them clambered out of the cab, ignoring the cabbie as he spat a profanity at them before swerving off down the street, tires screeching in protest.

Sunset was setting over the city now, making the sky look like a navy sheet of paper splotched with rosy ink.

Magnus had been informed by a number of mundanes that the horde was headed this way, though no one had mentioned Paddy. Magnus felt relieved and terrified all at once.

New Yorkers had witnessed the latest news, too, because abandoned vehicles dotted the street, their doors hanging open as if they had made a hasty retreat. They probably had.

"You do realize that once the dogs' come this way, there's a possibility we're going to get trampled to death?" inquired Sheldon.

"Only if you're as dim-witted as a mundie," said Alec, and Magnus was about to smile when the cars suddenly begun to bounce on their tires, the doors rattling like chattering teeth. The ground rumbled underfoot.

"Run!" Isabelle screamed, just as they swung into view.

The first of the hounds careened around the corner of a building, falling on its side and skidding as if the road were ice. The dog was crushed beneath the pack as they followed, skidding, too, on their sides before staggering back onto all fours and—and heading straight for them.

They ran.

Magnus could hear the tread of their paws behind him, pounding the ground with an insistent pace. Alec ran close beside him, his black curls whipping around his face in the wind, his sweater flattening against his stomach. Magnus had to fight the urge to reach out, take his hand, knew it would only slow them down. On his left side was Isabelle, her black hair tumbling down around her shoulders, her knee-length sequined dress tearing up her thigh as she lengthened her stride. Magnus could have sworn she was grinning.

And beside her was _Simon_. Simon, who had pulled himself back from the brink of death more times than Magnus could list. Simon, who had had his memories taken away, leaving him with only his name and everything he had ever known, apart from Clary. Simon, who was practically a toddler to the Shadowhunter world—Simon, who, as Magnus watched, hoisted himself up onto the back of a cab, ran across it, and leaped, performing a perfect somersault before landing in a sprint.

Simon Lewis was apparently the new and improved Jace Herondale—until he glanced triumphantly at Isabelle and faceplanted a streetlamp. They collided with an audible thump, and Simon went down, where he lay still. Isabelle turned—unfortunately after he had performed his freestyle dance move—and knelt down beside him.

Magnus skidded to a halt and shouted for Alec to do the same. The canines were gaining speed, impossibly fast. Magnus had time only to throw up a protection spell around Isabelle and Simon before the dogs were on them, and he, too, would have been crushed if Alec hadn't pulled him close and raised his seraph blade over their heads.

Brilliant light blazed up all around them, momentarily blinding Magnus. He could hear only the thundering of paws, could feel the brush of fur against the backs of his hands, and beneath that, fluttering like a hummingbird's wings, a heartbeat.

Alec met his eyes through the sphere of blue flame, and it wasn't as if time had stopped at all but as if it never existed, as if the beat of their hearts ticked away countless seconds, and the world and all its issues slipped away into nothingness, and all around them the earth was cracking open like an eggshell, leaving them standing atop a jagged plain that rose out of a bottomless pit of darkness, and he felt whole, because he had everything he wanted, pressed against his palms—well, almost everything he wanted.

A high and familiar laugh snapped them out of their daze. Blinking beyond the light, Magnus reached out and plucked the writhing little bundle off the dog's back. It squealed in protest and lashed out with tiny little fists. Magnus's arms tightened around it. A moment later the pounding reseeded into the distance and the light fell away from around them.

Paddy writhed in his arms, glaring up at him with furious eyes that shone like blue flames. Magnus chucked him under the chin affectionately. "You really are daddy's boy," he cooed. "My little Paddington Bear. My little…"

Someone cleared his throat. Magnus glanced up to find Alec, Isabelle, and a swollen-faced Simon staring at him, wearing identical expression of incredulity.

"You're _praising_ him?" Simon demanded. He threw up his hands. "The kid just tormented the citizens of the city!"

Magnus glared at him. "You looked better when you were a rat," he said, almost petulantly.

Simon frowned, clearly flabbergasted.

Alec scoffed, whereas Isabelle shot Magnus a warning look. "That wasn't his fault," she protested.

"Wait a second," said Simon. "I was a _rat_?"

"Oh, for the Angel's sake—what the—?" Alec yelped as he tumbled backward, seeming to float for a moment on air. The black St. Bernard Paddy had ridden had come up behind Alec and shoved its head between his legs, hoisting him up onto his back. Alec stared, hands raised, as if he couldn't quite believe what was happening.

Paddy squirmed around in Magnus's arms. When he caught sight of Alec, sitting stubbornly on the dog's back, he squealed with mirth. This seemed only to embarrass Alec even more.

"Can we keep it?" Paddy demanded, after he'd finished laughing.

"Absolutely not," said Alec at the same time Magnus said, "Why not?"

Their eyes met. "Come on, Alexander," said Magnus. "The Chairman is unbelievably lonely. And Paddy here has evidently taken a shine to it."

Alec crossed his arms. His glare seemed to pass over his sister, over Simon, until finally it rested on Paddy. Suddenly, he grinned, and Magnus realized he had been holding it back. "Fine. But he needs a name." He dismounted the hound and ran his fingers through its thick black coat. "How about Midnight?"

Paddy clapped his hands together in delight.

Magnus smiled and moved forward, saddling Paddy atop Midnight's back. Then he slid his hand into Alec's and started forward, back toward home, a glamour shimmering all around them, just as the final rays of sunlight blinked out of view, but Alec's hand in his anchored him, for he was his light in the darkness.


End file.
